Social Class Differences in On the Road by Jack Kerouac - Book Report/Review Example

Comparison of Reception of History between Kerouca’s On the Road and Swados’s On the Line On the Road is a film as well as a novel by Jack Kerouac. Its storyline is mainly about the journey of Kerouac as well as his friends across America. The book was written in the fifties and has a descriptive feature of the counterculture generations as well as the postwar beats. On the line, is a book by Harvey Swadows. The book is about a young man aspiring to be a musician but has no finances. He ends up in a workplace where he is injured and loses his voice. Swadows wrote the book On the Line, fighting the notion that The United States of America was quickly becoming a society with minimal social class differences. He however wanted to get away from any ideas of a unified working class. The book further talks about another young man, Kelvin, who also works with LeRoy the man who lost his dream on music. Both of them work in a factory and Kevin is astonished by the size of the factory. He saves up with time, so that he can buy a car. After tasting the feel of the car however he quits his job and goes back to Ireland. Several other characters come up in the book, and Swadows makes sure to review their lives, both private and work lives. The book however gives a gray feel, since most of the characters are given roles that have many hardships. The book On the Road is a book that fiercely portrays a personal aura of meaning and belonging. The book was written at a time when outsiders were treated as suspects and conformity was praised. The young generation in this book was attached to the upcoming culture of beats. The youngsters then came up with a movement, The Beat movement. Kerouac then wrote later to explain the movement. Many criticize the movement considering the word beat as one that means to be weary. It is for this reason that Kerouac decides to explain the meaning of the beat generation. He explains that the generation then was merely weary and signifies that it creates the notion of nakedness of the mind. He however goes ahead to distinguish between the beat generation and the lost generation. The story in the book began in 1947 when Sam Riley embarks on a journey in a truck where he makes friends. Sam and Dean roam the country in search of self-knowledge and experience. The story explains the death of Sam’s father, the relations between the young men and their experiences. The novel for instance explains that Dean has a sixteen-year-old wife. On the historical context, the book is set on the period of Second red scare, the cold war and Mc carthysm. The U.S government suffered a crackdown on the left wing issues both at home and abroad. A short time after the Soviet Union conquered Germany, America started viewing it as a threat. In the postwar rebuilding process, the two would constantly find themselves at odds with each other. The issue of the Soviet Union supporting communism in Turkey, Iran, and Greece led to introduction of the policy of containment by America. A plan was later devised to reconstruct the economy of Europe. While the Europeans planned on what to go about while planning their reconstruction with help from the Americans, the members of the Soviet Union walked away pulling with them the Eastern European countries with them. A soviet aid project began for these countries, and marked the beginning of a cycle of rivalry. This aided the firing of a cold war. It was at this time that the error of the beat generation was starting up, and at this time that Kerouac wrote articles in the newspapers explaining the meaning of the movement. This represents the relevance of the book On the Road on history. The book On the Line by Swadows was written in the fifties. There are characters on a Ford production line and all of them hate their job. The author tells of how they have no real friends at their work places or perhaps face other challenges as dysfunctional marriages. The author wrote the book in such a way, each chapter discusses its own story; like a composite of short stories. In comparison, the context in the book On the Road plays a deeper digging into history. From the book, there is an emphasis created on jazz music. The fact that there were young marriages, as learnt from the marriage of Dean Moriarty to Marylou who was sixteen, shows that the story was set in the ancient times. Marriages nowadays do not allow those less than sixteen years to get involved. On the Road also marks significance in history from the setting of the book by the author. On the Line lays more attention to the personal lives of its characters than the historical events surrounding the tale. The book that was more reviewed was the book On the Road. It has more information, especially information on the time of publishing and the historical events. On the Road by Kerouac can be said to have undergone more review since there has even been a film that was played out. Carrying out research, there is a lot of historical information that seems to have spurred the writing of the book. Events such as the refusal of the Soviet Union failing to support the reconstruction of Europe, and the beginning of the cold war all show that the book and factors of history around the time of its setting were reviewed. The fact that America was involved in the cold made the reviews of this book more based in America than anywhere else did. The book however criticized American culture. At the time it was being written though, it was not the only book that criticized the culture of the Americans. The author of the book had started working on it as early as 1948, though it is said that he wrote it in a span of three weeks. The author went on to write the book up to the 1950 is since it underwent several drafts, while he removed bits and added pieces but had completed writing it in April 1951. The book became an American classic. (More qualitatively, how was each book received in its moment?) Most of the Americans citizens had different perceptions on the two novels. In Kerouac’s novel ‘On the road’, the initial reaction differed from the current reaction due to changes in American’s culture with time. There was a mixed reaction towards the book from the media, with some supporting and speaking highly of the novel while others were against the same novel. The critical attention focused on areas of the context and the used style of writing, displaying the characters’ actions the prose nature. Gilbert Millstein an editor of the New York Times contributed in the editing of the novel, therefore promoting the book. He said that he liked the themes, which dwelt on the moral degradation in American and they style as well, which later was contested by most reviewers. He said that most sections in the novel had breathtaking writings, especially the writing about jazz music that American fiction never equaled (Harold 22). Gilbert Millstein view this novel as a beautifully executed and composed and one of the clearest sayings by the Kerouac generation. Most editors view the novel as diverse and showing different activities consisted of certain life lessons. It show how the misuse of leisure leads to useless lives and this makes most citizens to view the novel as a source of learning lessons, especially foe the American youths. David Dempsey on the other hand criticized the novel, contrary to Millstein ideas and views. He stated that the novel on the road literally portrays a road that leads to nowhere since none of the characters attained huge achievements. He described the novel as merely a portrait of disfigures segment of the society, who acted upon their neurotic necessity. He sees the novel as a representation of irresponsibility and lack of moral standards within the society. He also criticizes the style used saying that the content in the novel is a passionate lark and not an informative novel. Some of the American parents do not also support this novel saying that it shows indecency. There is use of impolite language in the novel such as ‘shit’ ‘fag’ and some practices such as drug abuse, alcoholism and sexual immoralities by the youth shows a sense of disrespect towards the elders (Harold 102). Phoebe Lou Adams also says that the novel is disappointing since it frequently promises revelation in the immorality level and the general applicability but lacks to deliver the conclusions of social improvements by using the characters. For example, the character of Dean as an eccentric in the beginning of the novel is still similar to the character at the end. With the criticism, Kerouac still acquired great recognition and respect for his work of art and trying to define part of the American’s culture, though most people did not want exposure of their nation. He remains as one of the most significant writes in American’s history, for trying to expose the social immoralities that contributed to the economic and social degradation in America. The novel’ on the line’ by Swados also received certain different receptions from American citizens. The novel however did not have as many reviews as the ‘on the road’ novel’. This novel also has its mixed reactions from editors, reviewers and other American citizens. Lrving Howe, a fellow college at the University of Massachusetts praised Swados work in 1979 saying that he was a writer uninfluenced by the public postures, with effective literature writing styles and devoted to perfecting his art (Bordman&Norton 98). According to Howe, Swados worked hard to describe the hardships that the low working laborers underwent when working in the factories. Most American citizens also support this novel saying that it represents the socially deprived workers in the region, who did not have the power to speak for themselves. Most reformists praise Swodos for his work of exposing the cultural degradation of the factory workers. They suggest that his criticism greatly contribute to the improvement in the ways of life f these workers and it plays a role on how the current American government protects the workers. Some of the Americans editors in the media claim that Swodos only pointed on the social issues in America rather than showing directions to improve on the issues. They say that he only criticized the Americans way of treating the factory workers and that this did not help in any way at improving the working conditions for these workers. For example, in the novel Swodos described how Kevin lost hope of buying a car because the factory he worked in was poorly paying (Bordman&Norton 152). This led him to engaging in alcohol and leading a reckless life. According to these editors, the novel lacks to show a sense of hope since the characters in the novel did not find a way out of their economic problems. Even with the criticism, Swodos emerged as one of the most famous writers who pointed the issue of moral degradation for the economically unprivileged workers, a fact that most of the American activists avoided for the fear of exposure and critics. . (What does this early “reception history” tell us about the relative positions of labor and leisure in midcentury US culture?) Immigration and other practices such as interracial marriages led to diversification of the American culture. Over the years, there has been a drastic change in the cultural practices in America. The two novels; ‘Kerouacs On the Road and Swados On the Line’ clearly expound on the history of the culture in USA in terms of the labor and leisure. The two novels are among the most controversial novels in America during the 20th century since they focus on the most important sectors of the world’s history in America, one of the most recognized nations worldwide. This study expounds on how each of these two novels focus on the state of labor and leisure during the mid century in American culture. The novel ’on the road focuses on leisure whereas ‘On the line’ novel looks at the state of labor in America. During the mid century in the American culture, the youths greatly misused their leisure time, using it for less productive activities such as alcoholism, drug abuse and engaging in irresponsible sexual behavior. This was due to emergence of technology and new trends from the early 1950’s (Paulo&Travels 116). The novel ‘On the road’ clearly describes on acts of peer pressure and misuse of leisure by especially the young adults. At this period in America, we learn that the state of labor especially in factories was not all in a good position; specifically on the working conditions and the level of payment for the workers. The novel ‘on the line’ shows the discontentment of workers by the working conditions in the factory. The novel ‘Kerouacs On the Road’ explains the way of life in America during the periods of late 1940 and in early 1950 well known as the midcentury. It talks about two youngsters who travel to and from America, undergoing different experiences and lessons in life. The novel focuses on the mode of transportation, standards of living and the way of life in the urban regions. Kerouac’s novel raises a sense of consciousness in America by challenging the fame and complacency of the post war activity in United States. This was not his intention when writing the novel but it helps in shaping the youths’ culture; their mode and behavior. In the novel, the characters engage in adventurous joy rides and their aim is having fun, engaging in drugs and women. The characters do not understand that one cannot ride joyfully forever, from one adventure to another without stressful moments or working hard. During the sixty years, a period before publishing of ‘on the road’ novel, there was a drastic change in the American culture. The novel tires to shape the way of life in the American culture by portraying what actually happens within the society, especially with the youths. According to the novel, the youths acquire demoralizing characters and they do not respect their moral standards. Dean, one of the main characters in the novel symbolizes the acts of ‘moral degradation’. He participates in prostitution and married three wives throughout the novel, impregnating two of these women. He also indulges in drugs and does not get serious at one point in life (Paulo&Travels 46). He represents a protagonist of positive values among the youths. The novel is an indirect criticism to the American culture resulting from domination of a mass culture in the United States during the mid century of fifties. ‘On the road, characterizes America with is high usage of alcohol, bitterness and men-women relationship. There are cases of poverty described in the novel and the America-Mexico comparison. According to the novel, misuse or abuse of leisure time especially by the youths contributed to poverty and poor standards of living for some of the American citizens and the immigrants as well. On the road gives a vision of part of the American history. The novel ‘on the line’ shows the high level of discontent by workers based on the real experiences and all aspirations of American factories. According to the novel, most of the workers such as Leroy and Kevin did not achieve any of their dreams due to the cheap labor. Other characters opted in engaging in alcoholism since working t thee factories did not upgrade them from their current positions (Harvey 112). It talks about the experiences workers undergo in the factories and all hardships they endure whereas some give up and lead reckless lives. During the mid century, the status of labor were poor and paid low wages such that most workers did not join the factories because they wanted to but due to circumstances and the urge to fulfill their dreams. For example, in the novel ‘on the line’, we learn that Leroy the African American aspired to be an opera singer and he needed money to attend the voice lessons while Kevin wanted to buy a car but later gave up as a result of low payment at the factory. The novels illustrate how most character engage in leisure as a way of consolation from the poor labor wages. They feel desperate and hopeless, eventually opting to engage in alcoholism, drug abuse and prostitution as a way of passing time (Harvey 201). Labor and leisure relate in that, one field is used in order to ignore the stress for the other field. ‘On the line’ novel describes the cultural degradation of workers and deprivation of their working rights during the mid century in America. Swados criticized the American who believed that the autoworkers or those workers who lacked white-collar jobs could not afford luxurious social lives. The novel tries to preach equality and fight socialism in the field of labor. Generally, both novels portray criticism for the American way of life during the early fifties, specifically in the field of labor and leisure. Criticism is positive, especially after focusing on the impacts of the works in these two novels. They contribute to raising awareness of the degradation in American culture and the responsible citizens work hard in trying to improve the situations. The novels pose a challenge or rather challenges to the youth, who misuse their free time in engaging in social crimes, therefore living in poor conditions. The novel ‘on the line’ also contributes to the improvement of the working conditions for the factory workers and other workers. Contemporarily, there is improvement in the youths’ characters and the working conditions as well as wages for the factory workers. The ‘on the road’ and ‘on the line’ novels lead to social and economical development in the United States of America. Works cited Swados, Harvey. On the Line. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1990. Print. Drinot, Paulo. Ches Travels: The Making of a Revolutionary in 1950s Latin America. Durham [NC: Duke University Press, 2010. Internet resource. Bloom, Harold. On the Road. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2003. Print. Bordman, Gerald M, and Richard Norton. American Musical Theatre: A Chronicle. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. Print Read More